Saturday, August 14, 2010

A native of California, Paula Coward found a community to call home on Peaks Island about two years ago. After gallery rounds in LA and travels in Asia, she has settled into a creative groove in Maine. Her current show at the Gem Gallery is a mix of wood, ink, watercolor and pastel with an emphasis on pattern and symmetry.

Paula, on the right, at her opening on Friday night:

This piece is ink on wood with a glossy surface.

Paula's work will be on display through next Wednesday, August 18. Gallery hours are11 - 6 PM daily. Take a ferry to Peaks, walk up the hill, left at the ice cream store. When the gallery is open, a red sandwich board is on the sidewalk, right before the Post Office. Call 766-5600 for more information.

Meanwhile, over on City Point Road, Jane Banquer is furiously carving wood blocks for her upcoming show, "Shelter by the Sea," August 19 - 25 in the back gallery. Jane's opening will be next Friday, August 20 from 5 - 8 PM.

Jane shares a sunny studio with partner, Norm Proulx, who also exhibits at the Gem Gallery. Their studio is open for the last Art Walk of the summer on August 28.

In the Gem show, Jane's deep background in printmaking will be on view, with woodcuts, and solar plate etchings, along with paintings inspired by cottages by the sea.

Also this weekend, some members of the Gem Gallery will participate in the annual Art on the Porch at the Fifth Maine at 45 Seashore Avenue. Paul Brahms, Jamie Hogan, Peg Astarita, and Kathy Newell, Thea Demitre, Betsy Stout, and Martha Morris Gibson will be among 40 artists selling their work on August 15 from 10 - 3 PM.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Claudia Whitman (on right) speaks with an art patron about her work during the current show at the Gem Gallery which is on exhibit July 29 - August 11.

Norm Proulx and Claudia Whitman share the walls of the back gallery in the Gem for two weeks, as they have for the last couple of summers. Their work complements each other; although disparate in both approach and motive, these pieces speak about work.

"Forsaken Workplaces, Forsaken Workers" is a dual exhibit that touches on one theme in very different ways.

Claudia's pieces make use of her collage and assemblage.

Claudia makes this statement about her series:

This show is a response to the NYTimes Magazine articles I read last summer about women beingthe only hope for the world.There were descriptions of poor communities around the world where women got small micro loans that led to small businesses but huge changes in the family and economic dynamics. Husbands often stopped beating their wives.I decided I needed to focus on women, particularly in the so-called third world.Hanging in my window was a mobile from NAWOU, the National Association of Women’s Organizations in Uganda, with spectacular figures in different poses.I thought I might make something like these figures, but then it occurred to me that I could use theirs and in such a manner, contribute to awareness of their endeavors and to their financial efforts.I e-mailed them and asked if I could use the figures in my art pieces if I gave them credit and also offered to give them a percentage of any sales.They answered enthusiastically in favor of the project.Thus, I will be donating 10% of sales to NAWOU, willsend pictures of the individual pieces, and will offer to bring the show to Uganda at some time in the future.

My art has always been a collaboration: items I find and things I make; incorporation of old works into new ideas; use of prints made by school kids with work of my own.This show stretches the concept further for me.

NAWOU

NAWOU, The National Association of Women's Organizations in Uganda, is a non-governmental organization representing women's groups in Uganda. The goal of NAWOU is to improve the status and living conditions of women in Uganda and to make women self-reliant. In addition to running income generation projects, NAWOU is also involved in micro credit, information and research, advocacy, and lobbying for women’s rights.

NAWOU’s handcraft project supports 70 women’s handcraft groups, representing over 1,000 women. With the income earned from making handcrafts, the women provide needed resources to their families. Having a sustainable source of income has not only improved their self esteem and confidence, but has also enabled women to cope with social economic issues and has given the women a stronger voice in their families and communities. Earning their own income has meant that women are able to make decisions and be less dependent on men for accessing their basic needs like food, shelter, health and education for their children.

Through an agreement with NAWOU to use the figures in my art pieces, I will be donating 10% of all sales to NAWOU.

BASKETS are made by Dhaka Handcrafts, an independent organization designed to assist impoverished rural artisans in Bangladesh to attain self-sufficiency, and at the same time to encourage and market traditional craftsmanship.

Norm Proulx has created a series of pastels and acrylic paintings of mills in Maine.

Weather is grand for traveling via ferry to the Gem Gallery on sunny Peaks Island! Call 207-766-5600 for gallery hours.

You can also see the work of Peaks Island artist Jeanne O'Toole Hayman at the newly relocated Addison Woolley Gallery from August 5 - 28. Gallery hours at 132 Washington Avenue in Portland are Wed. - Sat. 11:30 - 5.